argument

1) an abstract object in predicate calculus meant to represent a concept which one may use with a predicate to make an assertion, cf. The Language of Science; there are very different senses when the word a. is used for a proof or for a heated discussion 2) the grammaticalization of a logical argument, as ultimately defined by a PS-rule, ¶6-2-1; the components of a syntactic a. are either a noun phrase or a noun clause, either of which may be followed by a non-restrictive adjective clause, ¶6-2-2, or else a quoted sentence